By Neil Vigdor and Colin Gustafson, Staff WriterS

Published 6:27 pm, Tuesday, September 15, 2009

From left, Rick Novakowski with supporters Republican State Rep Fred Camillo and retiring tax collector Lou Caravella at the Mianus Boat and Yacht Club on Strickland Road where Novakowski awaited returns for the Democratic Primary for the Tax Collector position Tuesday evening, Sept. 15, 2009. His opponent, Bill Grad, won with ease.
Photo: Keelin Daly

In his Lake avenue kitchen, Bill Grad, center, calls out the returns to the applause of his wife, Laura, and friend Winthrop Adkins, right, as Cynthia Keating writes the number on the board for the Democratic Primary for the Tax Collector position Tuesday evening, Sept. 15, 2009. He won the race against Rick Novakowski.
Photo: Keelin Daly

Bill Grad earned his diploma Tuesday from local Democrats, who overwhelmingly backed him in the party's primary over Rick Novakowski for the job of tax collector.

A party stalwart who has campaigned over the years for Bill Bradley and John Kerry for president, Jim Himes for Congress and Lin Lavery for selectman, Grad carried all 12 of the town's voting districts en route to a blowout victory in the low-turnout primary.

The margin of victory was 77 percent for Grad, who received 1,011 votes compared to 299 for Novakowski, including absentee ballots, according to the registrar of voters.

"I can't be happier. I thought it was going to be much, much closer," Grad said.

The next big test for Grad is the November general election against Republican Tod Laudonia and possibly Novakowski, who hinted strongly after his primary setback that he could forge on as an independent petition candidate.

Making his first run for office, Grad, 63, celebrated his primary win at his Lake Avenue home with fellow Democrats and his wife, Laura.

The commercial real estate broker and father of two jotted down vote totals from each of the 12 districts, where he had volunteers waiting to call them in after the polls closed at 8 p.m.

District 7/North Center was the first to report, with Grad grabbing 57 votes to just seven for Novakowski.

Grad's supporters listened to show tunes such as the "Lullaby of Broadway" from "42nd Street" and sipped wine.

"I'm so proud of my husband," Laura Grad pronounced to supporters gathered in the couple's kitchen. "I just want to know, is everybody in this for the long haul?"

A resounding "yes" followed from friends and party leaders.

"Bill is a terrific candidate. We're thrilled," said Lavery, a longtime friend of the couple's who is running at the top of the local Democratic for first selectman.

At the Mianus River Boat &amp; Yacht Club in Cos Cob, where Novakowski is a member and held his primary night gathering, the mood was far different.

"It's not looking good," retiring tax collector Louis Caravella said as the election results started to trickle in.

Novakowski's candidacy appeared to be buoyed when Caravella, 82, endorsed him this summer for tax collector, one of few town offices that minority Democrats control with any regularity in Republican-leaning Greenwich.

But the primary only further confirmed Democrats' reluctance to back Novakowski, a GOP convert.

The Democratic Town Committee declined to back Novakowski for tax collector during a July 28 endorsement session because of questions about his political allegiances. The snub came despite Novakowski receiving support from a number of party leaders.

Democrats had also raised concerns about letters written by Novakowski to Greenwich Time that they said espoused right-of-center views on issues such as same-sex marriage and school prayer while embracing the presidential candidacy of Pat Buchanan.

Novakowski, 46, did not show up for the first hour of the party, instead staying at home to take phoned-in reports from each polling place.

As his 16-year-old son Dillon posted the results, the mood at the club sank further and further.

Novakowski, who was joined by Camillo, Lavery, Democratic selectman hopeful Drew Marzullo and DTC Chairman David Roberson, said he wanted to sleep on whether to press on to the general election.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to be sure of my direction, and I've got a good idea of what it's going to be," Novakowski said. "But I did promise that I would not make a final decision tonight."

Asked later whether he would remain a registered Democrat, Novakowski said he was putting his political independence before any party affiliation.

"I'm a registered Democrat. I don't want to speak on anything else," the married father of four and restaurant manager said. "I was a Republican, I am a Democrat now, but I honestly believe that if you're guided only by the party first, you're misguided."

The only game in town on primary day, the Democratic contest for tax collector was not much of a spectator sport.

The percentage of party members turning out to vote struggled to reach double digits.

With one hour until the polls closed, a paltry 1,150 Democrats had cast ballots out of a total of 8,922 registered party members as of 7 p.m., not including absentee ballots, according to the registrar of voters.

The final turnout was 14.6 percent.

Considering the price tag of the primary, which election officials had estimated could reach $40,000, that works out to nearly $31 per vote.

Voters certainly didn't have to worry about lines. At Town Hall, the polling location for District 2/Harbor, election workers sat by idly waiting for a trickle of voters. A similar scene played out at Old Greenwich School.

Factoring in absentee ballots, the turnout was on par with past Democratic primaries in town.

Just 14 percent of registered Democrats voted in last August's congressional primary won by hometown candidate Jim Himes over fellow resident Lee Whitnum.

In the 2002 Democratic primary for probate judge, which was held in September and won by Louis Pittocco over David Singer, 18 percent of party members voted.

Staff writer Neil Vigdor can be reached at neil.vigdor@scni.com or at 625-4436.

Staff writer Colin Gustafson can be reached at colin.gustafson@scni.com or 625-4428.